If it turns out indeed to be the case that engagement rings can damage a woman’s prospects of securing a job, it’s a damning indictment of the inherent misogyny in the modern workplace. With so important and striking a claim at stake, it’s crucial that the ‘research’ behind this story be conducted effectively and robustly:

Ali O’Neill, from comparejewellery.com who conducted the survey, said of the findings: ‘It seems that a fair few women in the UK are “ring removers”, but the reasons why were incredibly interesting – with fear about the connotations that the ring holds when it comes to employment prospects being the most common factor.

‘Even in modern times, many women still firmly believe that they are pigeon-holed by their relationship status – fearing fewer opportunities should they be viewed as likely to swan off to start a family, and so take their ring off to avoid this happening.’

She added: ‘Whether this be the case or not, it’s clear that these kind of stereotypes are still a problem in the workplace. It’s clear from our results that engagement and wedding rings signify so much more than simply a marriage – they’re a signal of our life plan. Whether or not others take note of the rings, as many women believe, remains to be seen.’

By ‘effectively and robustly’, it’s fair to say I didn’t mean ‘by a jewellery company looking to create jewellery-related headlines with no real concern for what impact or influence those headlines might have in the real world’. Surprisingly enough.